SIMPOD ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR SYSTEM DESIGN USING SANDCRAFT MICROPROCESSOR IP WITH DESKPOD
SandCraft Employs DeskPOD-200 for Internal Functional Testing

San Francisco, CA - June 15, 1998 - Simpod, Inc. today announced that its DeskPOD™ family of high-performance modeling systems supports the 64-bit RISC architecture microprocessor and cores developed by SandCraft, Inc. Engineers creating system-on-chip (SoC) designs can use the DeskPOD systems with SandCraft's cores to speed time to market. The DeskPOD platform enables SoC designers to mix their own hardware description language (HDL) code with silicon based on SandCraft's designs to rapidly model, debug, and prototype their combined hardware and software systems before manufacturing chips. "We are working to certify a complete portfolio of high-end as well as peripheral IP for the DeskPOD family," said Richard Curtin, CEO of Simpod. "We're pleased to support the SandCraft microprocessor cores as the latest addition to our portfolio. As SoC design methodology proliferates, we expect SandCraft's IP to play a strong role in the embedded systems and consumer electronics markets." SandCraft is a semiconductor intellectual property developer that designs and licenses advanced microprocessors and cores for digital electronic products. The company recently collaborated with NEC Electronics in the design of the NEC VR5400 microprocessor family, considered by industry observers to be one of the most powerful processor architectures designed specifically for embedded applications. The VR5400's performance is achieved through the use of NEC's advanced 0.25-micron drawn process technology and advanced features of the design, including a dual-issue superscalar architecture, multimedia extensions, floating-point capability, a 64KB on-chip cache and a 64-bit data bus. SandCraft is currently using the DeskPOD-200 for functional testing of a newly developed processor. The versatile DeskPOD system allows SandCraft's engineers to run not only its existing Verilog simulation testbench, but also "live" software applications on the bonded-out part. "The DeskPOD is a fast, efficient platform for our early testing of new devices," said Mike Gupta, chief engineer for SandCraft. "It plugs right into our network, integrates easily with our design and verification environment, and saves us significant effort and time. With these efficiencies, the DeskPOD system promises to be a very cost-effective vehicle for engineering teams who want to evaluate microprocessors and microprocessor cores and integrate them into their SoC design projects."

About the DeskPOD
Packaged in a convenient desktop form-factor, the DeskPOD family supports up to 570 fully programmable I/O signals to connect between the digital sub-system and the simulation development environment. DeskPOD API can support HDL-based simulators (Verilog and VHDL) as well as embedded software development tools. Multiple DeskPOD systems can be incorporated in a single simulation model, providing a scalable modeling resource for complex system design and verification. The Simpod modeling system satisfies a variety of design and verification requirements while easily co-existing with the user's current development environment. DeskPOD provides the hardware engineer with quick time-to-modeling and the potential for significant performance improvements over RTL simulation. Concurrent with the hardware design and verification effort, software engineers can run DeskPOD through a "C" API to verify embedded firmware or driver code intended for use in the target system. In this fashion, the software engineer gains access to the actual system blocks much sooner in the co-development schedule, allowing early validation of the code versus the system specification. Additionally, the DeskPOD socket can be connected to another subsystem by use of a cable, allowing the code to be tested in-circuit.

Price and Availability
DeskPOD prices begin at $25,000 with production release scheduled for the second quarter 1998. Simpod and SandCraft are collaborating to assure that modeling capabilities for SandCraft designed RISC cores will be supported concurrent with the core or microprocessor availability.

Simpod designs and develops a family of high-performance modeling systems for the co-development of digital electronic systems. The company's patented and patent pending technologies are incorporated in the DeskPOD family for use in the development of systems-on-a-chip (SoC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), silicon intellectual property (SIP), and embedded system design. Simpod products and services offer hardware and software development teams scalable, simulation acceleration and rapid time-to-modeling solutions which significantly shorten product design and verification schedules. Company headquarters are located at 3080 Olcott Street, Santa Clara, California 95054. Tel: (408)-330-9300. For more information, see the company website, http://www.simpod.com

SandCraft, Inc. is a developer of advanced microprocessor technologies for high-performance electronic systems, which are licensed to semiconductor manufacturers and other electronics firms as complete, verified-functionality chip designs. Founded in June 1996, the company applies its expertise in CAD tool development, semiconductor design and implementation, and technology integration to create and deliver microprocessor and system-on-a-chip solutions.

For more information contact:
Richard Curtin (Simpod) (408) 330-9300
Dirk Smits (SandCraft) (408) 490-3247
Matthew Schmidt (SandCraft Public Relations) (650) 691-1488


Note: Simpod and DeskPOD are trademarks of Simpod Inc. VR5400 is a trademark of NEC Electronics.

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